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Forgiveness

Chapter 6: An Eye For An Eye

Rufus slowly became aware of his surroundings. He tried to sit up, but found he couldn't move. He tried to move his arms, but he could feel course rope digging into the tender flesh of his wrists and ankles. He lifted his head and found himself naked, except for his boxers spread-eagle on his bed.

"What the hell is going on?" he shouted.

"Payback, Mr. President," Sephiroth said as he appeared beside the bed. He smirked maliciously and held a small blade before Rufus' eyes. "We are going to play a little game I call an eye for an eye before I hunt down the rest of the people responsible for all that I have suffered."

"Just get it over with," Rufus said coldly. "You don't want to be interrupted by my Turks."

Sephiroth sneered as he sat on the edge of the bed facing Rufus. "I left them quite the mess on my way here. They'll be busy for a while trying to figure which body parts go with which."

Rufus' eyes widened as he recalled Vincent's warning. If the mako treatments continue, he will escape. Do what I'm telling you Rufus or you will suffer the loss of more of your people…and the loss of your life.

"We are going to be here for a while, Rufus because for every man, woman, and child I have killed in the name of the almighty Shinra Electric Power Company, you shall receive a cut, so get comfortable," he whispered near his ear. "It's a very long list."

Rufus squeezed his eyes shut while Sephiroth grinned sadistically. Sephiroth was slightly impressed with the young president...he didn't so much as flinch when the blade pierced his flesh.


Loz sat straight up in bed gasping and grasping his chest, his breathing labored and short. Tifa touched his back and sat up beside him.

"Loz? Are you okay?" she asked through a yawn.

He looked around the darkened room he shared with Tifa and nodded once he realized where he was. "Yeah, it was just a nightmare."

"About what?" Tifa asked.

"About Sephiroth," he said with a shudder. "He was killing a bunch of people in white lab coats and then he was torturing President Shinra."

"Well, he did kill a lot of people and Rufus' father," Tifa reasoned soothingly. "Maybe you still have some of his memories floating around in your head."

"But it was Rufus he was torturing," Loz said as he looked over his shoulder at her. He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. "It was like I was there in the room watching him. And he looked directly at me and said 'you're next'."

Tifa frowned before pulling him back down beside her. "Loz, Sephiroth is dead. Cloud watched him burn. It was just a nightmare."

"A nightmare is how it all started last time," Loz murmured as he pulled Tifa into the crook of his arm and held her tightly.


Tifa was still thinking about Loz's dream as she cleaned the bar and restocked her shelves the next day. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door to the bar open and wasn't even aware she wasn't alone until Yuffie knocked on the bar counter top.

"Tifa, this is ground control," she said with a smile. "Wake the hell up!"

Tifa jumped to her feet and grasped her chest. "Gods, Yuffie! You startled me."

"Yeah, I know," Yuffie said with a grin. "You seemed a million miles away! Where were you?"

"I was thinking about last night," she said.

"Ah, so Sideburns is still rocking your world, huh?" Yuffie teased.

Tifa rolled her eyes. "He had a nightmare last night."

"About what?" Yuffie asked.

"Sephiroth," Tifa said uneasily. "It's been so long since he last thought about him, so I'm worried. I wanted to talk to Vincent about it, but I can't reach him. Have you heard from him?"

"Well, he was sent on a mission by Reeve to meet with a Shinra scientist who was insisting on speaking with Vincent about something related to Shinra," Yuffie said slowly. "And I haven't heard from him since then. And you know, I've been hearing some rumors about something big going on at Shinra, but…"

"What have you been hearing?" Tifa asked with a frown.

"Well, I heard that Rufus is sick," Yuffie confided. "No one has seen him for a few days and doctors have apparently been visiting non-stop."

"Do you think Geostigma is back?" Tifa asked.

Yuffie shook her head. "I don't think so…but apparently, Shinra's had a new hush-hush project in the works for about a couple of years, and nothing has come of it. In fact, I think the scientist Vincent went to see was formerly a part of the project team, but was shipped off to Gongaga for disagreeing with Rufus."

Tifa began to feel uneasy. "I have to see Cloud. It's his day off and I want to know if he's heard anything. Can you wait here for the kids?"

"Oh, no problem, Teef," Yuffie said with a smile. "Oh, and if you run into Vincent, tell him his girlfriend is super pissed that he didn't call like he was supposed to!"


Cloud looked up from a book he was reading when there was a knock on the door. He padded over to the door and opened it, smiling when he saw Tifa standing there.

"Tifa? What are you doing here?" he asked as he stepped aside so she could enter.

"Cloud, I have to talk to you," she said as she sat on the couch.

He frowned and closed the door before joining her on the couch. "What is it?"

"Have you had any weird dreams…or nightmares recently?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, actually," he said as his frown deepened. "How did you know?"

"Loz had a nightmare about Sephiroth last night," Tifa confessed. "And it really freaked him out."

"What was the dream about?" Cloud asked, a deep feeling of foreboding creeping into his stomach.

"He said Sephiroth was killing a bunch of people in white coats, and torturing Rufus Shinra," Tifa said with a shudder. "And then he looked at Loz and said…"

"You're next," Cloud finished.

"How did you know that?" Tifa asked with a frown.

"Because I had that same dream last night," Cloud said as he got to his feet. "I thought it was just because it's getting closer to the anniversary of Aerith's death and the whole Meteor thing. But now…why the hell is this happening? He's dead! We all watched him die and I watched his body be destroyed."

"It may be nothing, but Yuffie said Vincent went to Gongaga to see a Shinra scientist that Reeve knew," Tifa said. "This scientist used to be on a project in New Midgar, but he was unceremoniously shipped off to Gongaga. The rumor is he disagreed with Rufus about something."

Cloud nodded. "I saw Reno today and he said he had heard a rumor that Rufus was ill."

"That's what Yuffie said," Tifa added nervously. "This may be nothing, but…Vincent hasn't checked in with Yuffie in a week."

Cloud began pacing before looking up at Tifa. "I'm going to talk to Reno and see if he can get me a meeting with Tseng. Something's fishy here and it stinks of old Shinra policies."

"Don't let them talk you into taking on anymore of their mistakes, Cloud," Tifa said as she got to her feet. "It's about time Shinra had to clean up after themselves."


The puppet lives here now? That must mean my remnant is living with Tifa and the children. Hm. Cloud you're pathetic if you gave up that easily, Sephiroth thought to himself as he watched Tifa and Cloud exit Loz's old apartment. They seemed to be splitting up and Sephiroth had to decide which one to follow. He decided to follow Tifa because she was on foot and easier to follow. Predictably she began to walk in the direction of Axel's Custom Bikes, presumably to pay a little visit to his remnant. Let the games begin, he thought to himself as he smiled.

As Tifa walked, she seemed to sense something was off and Sephiroth had to stay out of sight to avoid her eyes as she scanned the area around her. He had to smile at her vigilance. So far Shinra was keeping his assault on Rufus a secret, so she had no reason to be suspicious of the world around her, yet she was. His borrowed Shinra infantryman uniform and helmet allowed him to both blend in and follow her more closely than if he had been in his normal attire, but if she noticed anyone who appeared to be with Shinra following her, she would stop to ask questions and he wasn't ready to reveal himself to her yet.

She walked into the bike shop and Sephiroth made his way around back. He found an open window in the alleyway between the shop and the building next door. The darkness of the alley provided him the cover needed so he could listen to their conversation and avoid detection and any interruptions from the people who wandered the street. He leaned against the wall and listened, the mere sound of his remnant's deep tones irritating him immediately. It would only be a matter of time before Sephiroth would make sure Loz paid for his betrayal…and pay his remnant would!